[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                820TH RED HORSE COMBAT ENGINEER SQUADRON

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, the Air Force has a motto of ``service 
before self.'' That is a fitting description of the 204 members of the 
820th Red Horse Combat Engineer squadron from Nellis Air Force Base, 
who will be departing for Albania very soon.
  Their mission will be to repair critical roads and bridges to help 
prepare the way for a safe and expeditious return of the Kosovar 
refugees who were displaced from their homes in this unfortunate 
conflict.
  Having seen the environment that they will be working in firsthand, I 
can tell my colleagues that their work will be challenged. However, I 
am very confident that their skills, training, and motivation will be 
equal to the task.
  As the struggle for a peaceful solution to the Kosovo conflict is 
played out on the TV and in our newspapers, it is the soldiers, 
sailors, airmen, and Marines who continue to work hard in the 
background, focused on accomplishment of their mission.
  I want to say thanks to all our troops deployed in support of 
Operation Allied Force and to the men and women of the 820th Red Horse 
Squadron, their families and loved ones. Good luck in your deployment. 
Godspeed. A quick return. But most importantly, thank you for your 
service and sacrifice for this nation.

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